Author's Note: I am so sorry that this took so long! I am having a slight bout of writer's block in the way that whatever I write I hate and delete. I'm still not even particularly happy with the way this turned out, so I apologize if it's not up to par. I hope you guys like it anyways! Thanks for being so patient! :)
Love ~JP

True North
By Jaclyn Parker

The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them.
~Stephen King
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Time was moving fast for Carly; faster than she had anticipated. It seemed before she could blink January was over and it was already Valentine's Day weekend.

For a lot of people, Valentine's Day was just a day they woke up with a giant headache, even if they had someone to celebrate the holiday with. Carly was of the sound opinion that one shouldn't need a specific day, complete with red hearts and the color pink everywhere, to give or get presents from the one you loved or treat them special. However, for her and Jack, even when they had been apart, Valentine's Day seemed to have a special connotation.

This year, as Carly felt their child growing inside of her more and more each day, she decided that this holiday was the perfect time to let Jack know about, well, everything. She had gotten the first round of blood tests back and her second ultrasound had been on Friday morning, during which Dr. Adams had also given her a preliminary okay. Even she had to admit that Jack had been trying to show her he had changed. Not mention that she was running out of excuses why not to tell him, as Lily and Molly both reminded her daily.

So that had been what she was thinking when she had lifted the phone to invite Jack out to dinner on Valentine's Day afternoon. His response, however, had stopped her cold.

"I'm sorry, Carly. I…I already have plans."

She hadn't asked with whom as she didn't think she would have been able to bear his answer. Trying to make her exit from the phone conversation as casual as possible, Carly had made some excuse and hung up, ignoring the protests she had heard coming from his end.

And to make matters worse, only minutes later, Lee had come in from dropping Mattie off to hang out with Parker. He had taken one look at her as she tried to hide her red puffy eyes while attempting to put the dishes away and demanded an explanation for the past couple of weeks.

Carly had tried to brush it off but soon the whole complicated mess came tumbling out of her. Which is why, the dishwasher was now half empty while she and Lee were on their third cup of tea.

To her shock, Lee didn't even bat an eye at her pregnancy revelation.

"Carly, I may be a guy but I also have a medical degree. That kind of balances out the normal male dimwittedness." Lee told her and frowned into his chamomille tea. "Um, seriously though, Luv, I know you aren't supposed to have coffee but why do I have to suffer? What is this?"

Carly gave a half laugh and half disgusted noise before brushing the tears off her cheeks and moving to make him a cup of coffee.

"So you are just about 13 weeks? You look amazing." Lee said, studying her with a professional eye. "I'd say you even still have about another month before you begin to really show. It's no wonder that not even the kids have figured it out."

Carly made a non committal noise and Lee frowned.

"What doctor are you seeing? Obviously not Dr. Schiller since we're keeping this on the down low." He asked and Carly rolled her eyes.

"First of all, on behalf of your niece, can you never say the phrase 'down low' again?" Carly said, pointing a finger at him. "And second, no I'm not seeing Dr. Schiller. She's a fantastic doctor but I was referred to someone else by the woman in California. His name is Dr. Adams."

"Dr. Michael Adams? Over in Heathersford?" Lee asked and at her nod he smiled in approval. "I've read some of his journal articles. He is actually quite well known in his field."

"Well good. I mean, I like him, but it's nice to know that you think he is as good as they say." Carly said and handed Lee his cup of coffee.

"And everything is okay so far?" Lee looked at her quizzically, knowing Dr. Adams specialty and also knowing the risks that came with her medical background.

"Um, so far, so good. The ultrasounds were clear and the blood tests were normal. He says we won't be able to diagnosis if I have pre-eclampsia again for another couple of months though."

"Yes, it's usually diagnosed around 32 weeks but in your case we should be able to tell by about 20." Lee concurred and Carly raised an eyebrow at him.

"We?" She asked amused.

"Hey look, Luv, it may not be my typical field of expertise but two doctors fussing over you can't hurt right?" Lee said, pointing his own finger at her now and she rolled her eyes again before leaning over and kissing his cheek.

"Thank you." She said and Lee just waved her off.

"So now you tell Jack." He said firmly.

"It's not that simple." Carly said and again Lee waved her off.

"Carly, I don't think you heard me correctly." Lee said and leaned forward. "Now…you…tell…Jack. The tests are fine, the prognosis looks good. That is his child and he has every right to know about him or her."

"Don't you think I know that?" Carly said moving away from where she was leaning on the counter by the sink and pacing slightly. "I wanted to tell him tonight."

"Valentine's Day! Perfect. Do you want me to take the kids to the movies or something so you can…?" Lee started to say.

"Stop!" Carly said, a little louder than she planned. Glancing towards the kitchen door she waited a few moments to make sure that the kids were all still upstairs before turning to look at Lee.

"Jack's not coming over. I already asked him and he said no." Carly said, trying not to show just how much saying that hurt her. "He already has plans with someone else."

Lee narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "When exactly did you ask him to come over?"

"Um, a couple hours ago." Carly said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"You called him up on Valentine's Day afternoon to ask him to Valentine's Day dinner after basically ignoring him for the past two weeks and you're surprised he has plans?" Lee asked incredulously.

"Well, if he really wanted…" Carly started to say but Lee cut her off immediately.

"Oh no! No, no, no! Don't even try that bullshit with me, Darlin." He said and she looked up into his face before turning away sheepishly. Seeing that he had made his point he lifted his coffee mug to his lips once more.

"Well then, if he has plans, call him up and tell him to change them. Tell him you have something more important to talk to him about." Lee said as if that solved everything.

"No. I won't beg him to spend Valentine's Day with me. If he wanted to come over he would have changed his plans by now and called me back." Carly said stubbornly.

"The man loves you, you idiot. You love him. You and I both know it. Hell, the whole damn town knows it. What do you need? A bloody freaking parade?" Lee asked vehemently.

"Maybe!" Carly said just as heatedly. "Maybe I like the idea of him proving that he really is going to fight for me the way I've had to do for him in the past. Is that so wrong?"

"It's not wrong, Darlin, but love is not supposed to be a competition. Besides, there is much more at stake here than there was a couple months ago. Do you really want to keep this up much longer?" Lee asked and noticed as the fight suddenly seemed to drain from her shoulders.

"No," Carly admitted. "The more I think about everything, the more I really can't wait to tell him. I'm just so confused."

"And scared." Lee said and she looked up at him, her blue eyes shining.

"And scared." Carly echoed softly.

Lee placed his coffee mug down by the stove and moved to wrap Carly into an embrace.

"Look, Kiddo, I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life. I just want you to be happy and we both know that Jack makes you happy. Even when he's being a wanker."

"Kiddo?" Carly asked, her voice muffled slightly as her face was buried into his chest. "You're only three years older than me, buddy."

"Yeah, well, you how I feel about you. Besides Lisa and Mattie…you are my family. I couldn't love you more if you really were my sister."

"I love you too, Doc." Carly said and leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"Okay," Lee sighed and squeezed her once more before letting go. "I am not starting my shift until ten and since neither of us has plans tonight why don't we do a Valentine's dinner here with the kids? We can order pizza, rent a movie off On Demand, and just basically relax."

"I think dinner is a great idea. I'm sure the kids will love it." Carly said and moved to head into the living room to call to the brood upstairs.

"Carly," Lee's voice stopped her and she looked over her shoulder at him. He took a deep breath before saying, "I won't pressure you about this whole Jack thing for the rest of the night but I need you to understand something. As much as I love you, this time, Luv, I'm on his side. You have to tell him before it's too late."

Carly didn't say anything but nodded her head and slipped out of the room. After a moment to himself, Lee followed.

As Carly had anticipated, the dinner idea was welcomed by everyone. Lee stayed true to his word and didn't mention Jack once until just before he and Mattie said their goodbyes. As he hugged her he took the opportunity to whisper in her ear.

"When you tell him just remember I'm available for godfather duties."

Carly laughed and pretty much shoved him out the door, brushing off the looks that her kids gave her. They quickly got over it and begged to be able to watch one more movie before bed. Carly sighed and under the stipulation that they all agreed on one that was appropriate, she relented. After they finally settled on a Ben Stiller comedy, Carly was about to go make popcorn when her cell phone started to ring. Glancing at the caller ID she frowned as she answered it.

"Hello?"

"Carly?"

"Jessica, what's up? Is everything okay?" Carly asked, stepping into the kitchen as she heard the stress in the voice of her club's hostess.

"Well, that depends on how you define the word 'okay'." Jessica tried to joke but at Carly's impatient sigh she changed tactics. "There is a delivery here and the guy won't accept anyone's signature but the owner."

"Well where's…"

"Henry? I already tried him and he said that you'd have to take care of it. He took that…fiancée…of his to Aspen for the weekend." Jessica said, her opinion of Vienna seeping into her voice and forcing Carly to hold back a laugh.

"Okay, what's the delivery?" Carly finally managed to ask.

"I have no idea! I think it's the new backgrounds for the back bar display cases but the guy won't even let me see into the stinkin' truck. He keeps saying that he has his orders and that only the owner can sign…blah blah blah. I mean, seriously, who makes a delivery at quarter to ten at night?" Jessica said, glaring at the delivery man who was leaning on the bar counter staring out at the busy club while blatantly ignoring her. Jessica rolled her eyes and curbed the urge to smack the man.

"Okay, tell him that I'll be there in about 25 minutes." Carly sighed and then with a smirk added, "And try not to beat him over the head with his clipboard before I get there, Jess."

"Oh Carly, you know me so well." Jessica joked back.

Carly laughed and hung up, as she headed back into the living room. Explaining the situation to the kids, she put Parker in charge. She intended to be back before it became an issue but just in case she adamantly reminded them that when the movie was over it was bedtime.

Carly pulled into Metro's parking lot at 10:15, noting with satisfaction that it was still relatively crowded. The economy crisis had hit their business as well, but since the New Year's party, it had picked up again nicely.

Walking in, Carly caught sight of Jessica coming out from behind the main bar and waved to her. Jess's face lit up and after saying a quick word to the bartender she hurried over to where Carly stood.

"Hi! Thanks for coming." Jess said and Carly smiled.

"I didn't really have a choice, now did I?" Carly said and looked around. "So where is our annoying delivery man?"

Jessica shifted on her feet and glanced around before tucking a shoulder length strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well, you see…here's the thing…" Jess hesitated and Carly's eyes narrowed. The young girl sighed and dropped her hand, muttering fast under her breath. "He left."

"He what?" Carly exclaimed.

"Well, I finally managed to talk him into letting me sign since he said he other deliveries to make. He, um, put everything in your office." Jessica said and gave Carly an apologetic look.

Carly stared back at her for a few moments in silence before Jessica's name was called out by one of the waitresses. The girl shrugged again and moved towards the person who had called her name.

"Wait, Jess, what was the delivery?" Carly said but Jessica was already halfway across the club and the music drowned Carly's voice out.

With a long sigh, Carly decided that since she was there she might as well go look at whatever it was that had been delivered. Waving at some of the employees when they spotted her, she started to take off her coat as she finally opened her office door.

Flipping the light on she stopped short, her one arm still caught in the sleeve of her winter jacket.

Red and silver heart shaped foil balloons intermingled with white and clear latex ones. Some were filled with helium so that they danced across her ceiling while many others had just been blown up and were now covering the floor of her office. Four large standing floral arrangements had been placed in a semi-circle around her desk in the back of the room. These bouquets were massive, standing at least four feet high and overflowing with different colored roses, lilies, and pieces of greenery to accent. Each arrangement had a balloon bobbing just over top of it, attached to the long ivory columns in which they had been placed. These balloons, however, had writing on them and Carly's eyes watered as she read the words aloud in order.

"Today…and tomorrow…and tomorrow…and tomorrow."

Finally taking her coat all the way off, Carly placed it on the hook by her door. Closing it, she walked forward, her feet gently nudging balloons every so often. She reached the first column of flowers and stopped. Lifting up a shaking hand to touch the first balloon, Carly inhaled the intoxicating fragrance the flowers gave off. As she traced the letters of the word "today", the tears that had shined in her eyes began to fall.

"Oh, Jack." Carly whispered, wiping her cheeks.

Who would have thought that the man who was so very often stubborn, practical, judgmental, and temperamental was also a complete and utter romantic? More and more it seemed that things that they had said to each other over the years, things that she thought he had forgotten from the way they had behaved around each other recently, were just as important to him as they were her.

Suddenly her office line began to ring and she moved to answer it before she had time to think about what she was doing.

"Hello?" She said, her mind still struggling to take in the sight in front of her.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Carly." Jack spoke softly, the sound of his voice sending a tingle down her spine and for a moment she couldn't concentrate on anything at all.

"Carly, you there?" Jack asked and brought her back to the present.

"Yeah, I, uh…I'm uh…." She stuttered and he let out a chuckle. Carly blinked rapidly, quickly realizing that by calling her on the office phone he knew where she was.

"How did you know I was here?" Carly asked and she could hear the smugness in his voice as he answered.

"I have my sources."

"Hmm, if that source of yours pulls something like this again she might just find herself fired." Carly said, placing a hand on her hip as she thought back to the grin that Jessica had given her when she had walked into the club tonight.

"Aw, don't be too hard on her. She's good kid." Jack said and he could tell by the small laugh behind the grunt Carly gave in response that she wasn't really angry.

"Why did you do this, Jack?" Carly asked quietly brushing her fingers over the soft petals of a peach colored rose with the tips looking as if the were dipped in red paint.

"I couldn't be with you tonight but I wanted to make sure you knew that you were the one I was thinking of." Jack said and Carly sighed.

"If that's true than why did you make plans with someone else?"

"I didn't!" Jack protested.

"What?" Carly asked, her eyes widening. "Jack, I heard you. You said…"

"I know what I said, Carly, but you didn't give me a chance to explain." Jack started to say but sighed. "No, that's not entirely true. I let you think that because I didn't really know how to tell you what I was doing. I was afraid you'd…"

"Jack, just say it!" Carly demanded.

"Because of my background and proximity, one of my old friends at the FBI asked me to help transport a prisoner of theirs tonight to Indiana State Prison." Jack said reluctantly.

Jack's quiet words hit her like a fist and reaching blindly behind her, Carly sunk into her office chair as her legs gave out. She could hear the roaring of her pulse in her ears and closing her eyes tightly, she had to remind herself to breathe. Vaguely, she could hear Jack's reassuring voice in her ear.

"Nothing happened, Carly, I'm okay. Do you hear me? I'm okay. Breathe, Baby, please breathe." Jack said, gripping his cell phone with white knuckles and his eyes squeezed shut.

He had heard the sharp intake of breath on her end and immediately knew that all the memories from just under 5 years ago had flooded back to her, as he was afraid they would had he told her the truth this afternoon. Wishing with everything he had that he was sitting next to her in Oakdale rather than 3 hours away in a hotel room in Michigan City, he just reiterated that he was okay until he heard her breathing begin to relax.

"Jack, you're…" Carly whispered as she struggled to calm down.

The hand that wasn't clutching the phone for dear life moved to cover the small bump of her stomach that secretly housed their baby. The tangible connection to Jack seemed to bring her back and when she opened her eyes she wasn't surprised to find that her cheeks were wet with tears. No matter how many years passed, the memories and the feelings of when she thought she had lost him still haunted her.

"I really am okay, Carly." Jack said and, finally Carly could feel her pulse returning to normal. "Everything was routine, I had five other agents and I'm staying over in a hotel room paid for by the lovely US government. So, as you can imagine, it's barely got a bed and a coffee machine."

"Oh, well..." Carly said, trying to push the irrational fear that lingered to the back of her mind. Jack was right; he was fine and she needed to let the moment go. "At…at least you have a coffee machine."

That's my girl, Jack thought to himself and settled back against the hotel bed's headboard.

"This is very true. Even if I do have to share it andthe room with a man that looks like he could rival Marcus Royale in the human brick wall contest."

Carly let out a real laugh and the sound of it warmed Jack's heart.

"So where is this roommate of yours?" Carly asked, picking up a pen on her desk and starting to sketch on a blank piece of note paper. She knew that it was an inane conversation but she didn't want to get off the phone with him…not just yet.

"Oh he went to go workout at the hotel fitness center. Tried to get me to go too but I told him there was a Ho-Ho in the vending machine and an important phone call that had my name on it." Jack said causing Carly to smile.

"I'm glad I ranked right up there with the importance of you getting a Ho-Ho." She told him, although as the words left her mouth she realized how good that piece of junk food sounded at the moment.

Suddenly her eyes narrowed in suspicion and scanned her desk. Sure enough, a small wrapped present sat in the corner by her desk lamp. Opening it, she dug into the box and pulled out one of the individually wrapped treats.

"How do you do that?" Carly asked, licking her lips as she took a bite of the chocolate and crème confection.

"I know you. It's as easy as that." Jack said and he felt his body react at the soft moan of pleasure that escaped her as she ate the snack cake he had left her.

"So you liked my surprise?" Jack asked, changing the subject and shifting on the bed.

"Yes, thank you. It was…it was perfect." Carly said, the words still not adequate enough to describe her feelings as she looked around the room again. Frowning, she mentally calculated something and shook her head. "Jack, this must have cost a fortune."

"Well, it helps when you prevent a robbery of a flower shop and they give you insane discounts." Jack said, thinking of the small Latino family that ran the floral shop he had been frequenting more and more lately.

"Okay, it was definitely more romantic when I thought you had spent a fortune." Carly said and smiled as Jack's deep chuckle echoed in her ear.

"I was thinking…" Jack started to say.

"Uh oh, don't hurt yourself." Carly said and Jack groaned.

"Oh, funny lady! Could you just let me talk for like one minute, please? Then you can hold court again, okay?"

"Okay, okay." Carly said, but Jack could hear the giggle in her voice as she spoke.

"Well, since tonight got all screwed up, I was hoping that we could re-schedule. You know, kind of have a Valentine's Day do-over." Jack said and was met with a long silence. "Carly?"

"I'm here, Jack." Carly said and looked down at her sketch. Without even thinking about it she had drawn a pair of baby feet tied together with a bundle of balloons. Apparently her subconscious was giving her a very definite suggestion.

"I have a better idea." She said quietly and proceeded to tell him her plan. After a few moments of her explaining her idea, he agreed and she smiled.

"Then it's settled?" Carly asked, jotting the down the conclusion of their discussion on her calendar.

"It's settled." Jack laughed and glanced at the clock on the night stand. "Hey, I know it's late and I don't want to keep you from the house any longer. Drive home safe okay?"

"I will. I'll talk to you tomorrow?" Carly asked, hating the hesitant note in her voice but she knew she wouldn't feel 100% until he was back in Oakdale.

"I'll call the moment I get into the station, okay? Or better yet, why don't I stop by the house?" Jack said, knowing exactly why she was asking. He couldn't stand that his plans tonight had her worried for him, but part of him had to admit that it felt nice to know she cared.

"No, it's okay. A phone call will be fine. Just…don't forget." Carly said and he nodded, even though she couldn't see him.

"I promise." Jack said and Carly knew that he would keep it.

"Okay. Well then, goodnight, Jack. Thank you for everything." Carly said, brushing a curl behind her ear. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Goodnight, Carly. Happy Valentine's Day." Jack said and he quietly hung up the phone. Staring out the window overlooking the city, he let out a soft sigh. "I love you."

Meanwhile, as Carly hung up her office phone, she turned and let her fingers caress the peach rose that captivated her earlier.

"I love you, G-man." She whispered and with a swift determined movement plucked the rose from the arrangement. Pulling her jacket on again, she turned off her office light before locking the door and striding through the now almost empty club.

At the sound of heels, Jessica looked up as she finished up helping a bus boy clear one of the tables. Seeing Carly, she froze when her blonde boss stopped and caught her eye.

Carly sternly pointed the rose in her direction, her face purposely blank. She didn't say anything and Jess began to wonder if she had gone too far tonight by agreeing to help Detective Snyder when he had asked her for a favor. But then Carly's façade dropped away and she winked at the young hostess causing Jessica to let out a laugh of relief that startled the last few patrons and employees left in Metro.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Carly!" Jess called out.

She laughed again as Carly stayed silent but finally exited the club, wiggling her fingers goodbye over her shoulder and a huge smile on her face.